president obama won the issue. how can republicans oppose cutting taxes for 98% of the american people? that's what this is going to come down to if it goes beyond january 1st. and i think republicans are going to cave again if that happens. so the smart move is take taxes off the table. and then the only thing left is what will the president do on spending and entitlements. don't forget, wolf and paul, none of this tax talk has any impact on the sequester. unless they cut spending, we are still facing massive cuts to the pentagon, doctors and hospitals. taxes are a separate debate. solve it, settle it and then we can focus on spending before december 31st. >> hold your fire, paul. we're going to continue this conversation. we have more to talk about. should president obama back off plans to nominate susan rice, for example, as the next secretary of state? who are his other options? are republicans secretly plotting for one of their own? more with ari and paul when we come back. can i help you? i heard you guys can